Anybody know their rover K series?

[AJQS]

Rebuilding next door's Rally car (MG ZR, formerly 1.4 now a worked 1.6), and have one final niggle with the cooling system sensors, seems we have lost the temp gauge and the rad fan runs constant when the engine is running, plus when you tuirn the ignition on initially it rins for a couple of seconds then goes off. It also runs on after switching the engine off.

Since we've been working on it only with the aid of a scrawled note of the head bolt torque settings and a few details about the cam timing, I'm not sure which sensor is where and does what, so if anyone has a haynes manual they could have a nose in to see what's what with that particular set of circuits I'd be most grateful!

 

[onomatopoeia]

Since we've been working on it only with the aid of a scrawled note of the head bolt torque settings and a few details about the cam timing

I can't help you with your sensor problems, but would say that given it's a K-series engine I'd make very sure those head bolt torque settings are correct! They blow head gaskets nearly as often as Hillman Imp engines!

 

[Yves Geza]

Alan, I haven't competed in any motor sport for nearly twenty years, but how far do next-door think their rallying career will go if they can't even fork out £15 on a Haynes manual?

ETA - do these pics of sensors and links help at all? http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=419729

 

[admirable]

Is the ECU from the 1.6?

 

[wisemen]

I can't help you with your sensor problems, but would say that given it's a K-series engine I'd make very sure those head bolt torque settings are correct! They blow head gaskets nearly as often as Hillman Imp engines!

Found this out the hard way. Went twice on my freelander in 8 months.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

I can't help you with your sensor problems, but would say that given it's a K-series engine I'd make very sure those head bolt torque settings are correct! They blow head gaskets nearly as often as Hillman Imp engines!

Oh yeah, I used to cringe every time something with a K-series came in, you could just about guarantee the head gasket would be away.

 

[pnotz]

I can't help you with your sensor problems, but would say that given it's a K-series engine I'd make very sure those head bolt torque settings are correct! They blow head gaskets nearly as often as Hillman Imp engines!

As long as you warm them up before you thrash them the head gaskets are fine. On one of the other forums i am a member of one of the guys races a freelander offroad, nearly 80,000 miles still original gasket.

Sensor issues, no idea, sorry. Coulkd always try the rover forums, there are a few about.

 

[wisemen]

As long as you warm them up before you thrash them the head gaskets are fine. On one of the other forums i am a member of one of the guys races a freelander offroad, nearly 80,000 miles still original gasket.

Sensor issues, no idea, sorry. Coulkd always try the rover forums, there are a few about.

I'm sorry but thats carp. I'm a steady driver and not a thrasher, needed to be because of the miles I was doing and my first head gasket went at 40k on a 3 year old car.

 

[AJQS]

Alan, I haven't competed in any motor sport for nearly twenty years, but how far do next-door think their rallying career will go if they can't even fork out £15 on a Haynes manual?

ETA - do these pics of sensors and links help at all? http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=419729

He does pretty well, he swapped the engine in on his own and had it riunning, then decided to have some headwork done on the old head and fit new cams, taht's where I come in as he doesn't do engine internals. He's a Welsh farmer, you won't get money for a manual out of him. He doesn't even own any Metric tools.

It's running the Freelander improved HG now too so should help.

That link was useful - the sensors were slightly differntly laid out for some reason, so I swapped the elbow with the old engine (which did look like that pic) and it's all now spot on.

The ECU is apparantly one that's been mapped for the cams. It's quite a mash up - the engine is from one car, the head is from another, the cams and ecu are from another again...

Anyway here it is in all it's glory (term used loosely)

 

[stupar]

The K series engines are very versatile and tuneable.
This certainly takes me back to when I owned a rover 214 twin cam 16v. i loved that car.

Sounds like a lot of work has gone on already and the ECU will certainly help get the most out of those cams.
On a personal note I notice it still has a standard rover intake system.
I would be taking that off and putting a set of throttle bodies on, will breath far easier as well as releasing some extra ponies.

Was he not tempted to go for the 1.8 VVC engine instead?

 

[AJQS]

Unfortunately you can't have TBs for road rallying, you must retain the manufacturers standard setup, Otherwise I'm sure they'd already be on there!

The engine was part of a scrap car he bought on the cheap, it's provided a few spare body panels as well in case of accident so there wsn't really any hesitatiomn to use that.

It should shift pretty well now, I was incredibly underwhlmed when I took it out as a 1.4 but if the HG was letting go I'm not suprised.

Gotta love budget DIY motorsport!

 

[pmaccyd]

I remember watching an open university program about the rover longbolt engine, it was fascinating... by all accounts a bit of a revolutionary design at the time. Not really relevant but thread bought back memories apparently the first time its run it is very important as the bolts go into "yeald". I can't believe I'm typing this....

 

[onomatopoeia]

Unfortunately you can't have TBs for road rallying, you must retain the manufacturers standard setup, Otherwise I'm sure they'd already be on there!

It's a bizarre set of rules, if the engine comes on that model with multipoint fuel injection that's fine. If it's an old car on carbs (like my various Hillman Imp engined vehicles, for example) you can't even replace them with twin 40s .

No such restriction for 12-cars or scatters, as no-one knows the rules at those

 

[woof woof]

I'm sorry but thats carp. I'm a steady driver and not a thrasher, needed to be because of the miles I was doing and my first head gasket went at 40k on a 3 year old car.

AFAIK the original engine was years ahead of it's time and reliable... but there's usually a catch and in this case there were two. Firstly other non engine problems like a failed fan that wasn't spotted could lead to head gasket failure and secondly Rover cost cutting measures lead to head gasket failure being more likely. The good news is that (again AFAIK) all of the dastardly cost cutting measures can be reversed.

Certainly my family has had more K series engines than anything else and never had an engine problem. The one in my Elise certainly didn't have an easy life either